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This story has been entered onto the site by Christina on behalf of Joseph Markey who fully understands the conditions.

These are the memories of Joseph Markey from when he was six years old until he was ten when the war ended.

During the war most of the food available was rationed; this meant that it had to be shared out equally. Ration books were given out telling you the portions of meat, vegetables, and other foods you were allowed. Instead of buying vegetables, or saving coupons to get them, many people would grow their own. By doing this families would have much more than what they would have been able to buy. The most common meal would be soup for dinner. This was because it was very nutritional and could be made easily by using water and vegetables from the garden. If there was a real shortage of foods such as eggs, substitutes would be used instead such as dried eggs.

In the Blitz, light would have to be blocked out by using black out curtains or paper. This was so the German soldiers could not see any source of light coming from the houses. A warden would come around to check all the houses to make sure that no light could be seen coming from them. There was also not allowed any lights outside and so these would all be turned off. Signposts would also be taken down so if the Germans had arrived in town they would not know which way to go. The names were taken away from the railway stations and were guarded by men who stood on the trains. When the air raids were sounded, everyone would have to rush to the nearest air raid shelters which were known as ‘Anderson Shelters’. Inside the shelters there would often be one or two bunk-beds where you would be able to sleep overnight. To make sure the air raid shelters were disguised, they would be covered by turf from the ground so that they were camouflaged.

Near to where the Warner Brothers Cinema used to be in Newcastle, there was a goods station where food and clothes would be brought and distributed to the people who lived in Gateshead and Newcastle. This would be one of the very important places as it was where a great deal of the food would be delivered. This was an easy target and so was bombed by the German Air Force. ‘Blazes could be seen from miles around and it burnt for days and days’.

Not many children were evacuated from the Gateshead and Newcastle area. This was because it was not seen to be a big threat for bombings. Those who were evacuated were sent to places like Yorkshire where there is a lot of countryside and a smaller risk of bombing.

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